Mitchell LeRay Dawkins Sr.

Some children take decades or more to find their path in life. At the age of 12, Mitchell LeRay Dawkins Sr. already knew where he wanted to be: the church.

Born in West Palm Beach, Dawkins grew up in Orlando under the care of his parents and the congregation at the Antioch Primitive Baptist Church. The church pastor, Dr. W.D. Judge, was a mentor to the young Dawkins and often took him to Baptist conventions.

Judge "was so amazed at how he would stand and ask such profound questions of the leaders that came in to visit, and how wise he was, even at the age of 12," recalled Melanie Dawkins, Mitchell's wife.

Dawkins died of a heart condition on Feb. 28. He was 58.

He leaves behind his following at Winter Park's New Warner Chapel Primitive Baptist Church, where Dawkins served as pastor for 22 years. He also was president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship of Winter Park and chaplain for the Winter Park Police Department.

His early involvement with the Baptist denomination led Dawkins to Florida Theological Seminary and Bible College in Lakeland, where he received his bachelor's degree. He later attained a doctorate in divinity from St. Thomas Christian College in Jacksonville.

It was also his faith that led him to marriage. He met the woman who would become his wife at a 1992 church convention in Tampa.

"We actually met at a water fountain," said Melanie Dawkins. "I was behind him in line, and he turned around and saw me and actually spit all the water he had in his mouth all over me."

The two were married nine months later. During their courtship, Dawkins was called to be the pastor at New Warner, a church whose roots can be traced to the late 1920s.

Dawkins, his wife recalled, had his work cut out for him.

"We went there and there were just three living members still attending the church," she said. "Two were over the age of 80 and blind."

Dawkins eventually grew the congregation to more than 350 regular members. In 2000, he oversaw the relocation of the church from a humble wooden building to its current location on Comstock Avenue.

Dawkins' "commanding presence" — he was more than six feet tall — was balanced by an easy sense of humor, said son Dexter Dawkins, 27, of California.

"He was a person that everyone said 'Yes, sir' and 'No, sir' to," said Dexter Dawkins. "Not just his kids, not just his family. You'd meet him and you knew he deserved it."

Mitchell Dawkins' service to the community extended beyond the walls of his church to include youth ministries and serving meals to seniors in need.

"Now that he's passed, people are coming up to us and saying how they didn't have any food inside their house and how my dad fed them," said Dexter Dawkins. "This woman told us that's the day she started believing. Not even in Christ; that was the day she believed in good people. That there was actual kindness in the world."

In addition to his wife and son Dexter, Dawkins is survived by 10 children, two sisters and three brothers, including former NBA player Darryl Dawkins. Arrangements are being handled by Marvin C. Zanders Funeral Home, Apopka.